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Sec 4 A. Math Reflections 26/01/13 – Quotient Rule

Posted on January 29, 2013February 22, 2016 by admin

I introduced Quotient Rule to the class last week so today we continued with it. Quotient Rule is actually very easy to use and should not be replaced by the Product Rule, even though it’s very convenient for students to write a fraction as a product of two terms.

What students find difficult is in simplifying the resulting expression, which often consists of fractions within fractions, with some terms having a square root sign over it. Of course there is a ‘trick’ to get the factorisation done quickly and correctly, but it’s too cumbersome for me to demonstrate here. More importantly, this difficulty that students often face highlights the point that I’ve posted earlier, that Sec 1 and Sec 2 Algebra is VERY IMPORTANT.

For the next lesson, I’ll be going into the Second Derivative as well as Application of Differentiation to curves, tangents and normal. We may be covering the Chain Rule if we have time.

Rgds,

Ilyasa, M.Ed, PGDE, ex-MOE Math and Physics teacher (hp: 97860411)

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For our latest timetable, click here =>

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Educational Advice, Universities

Finance degree from SIM is still recognised …

Posted on January 22, 2013 by admin

Recently, I went to open a business account with a local established bank. I was served by a Business Banking Manager, a fresh graduate, who had worked for the bank for just 4 months! He had a finance degree from SIM.

Ok, this bank, as far as I know, is not owned even partially by the Spore govt, although its leaders have ties with the ruling elite. I’m also not sure which finance degree he obtained, as in which was the awarding university (SIM is not a university; pls don’t confuse SIM with UniSIM).

Thus the finance degree he obtained is most likely an external degree. My point is, you may still get employed by an established company if you have not graduated from any of the local universities, such as NUS, NTU, SMU or SUTD. It could well be that the finance or banking industry has its own list of recognised university degrees, such as the nursing or hospitality industries, and these degrees may even be external or distance-learning degrees.

Thus if you are interested in a particular industry, you’d need to find out which are the universities recognised by the big names in that industry.

Pure Physics

Sec 4 Physics Reflections sun1415 20/01/2013 – Electrostatics

Posted on January 21, 2013February 22, 2016 by admin

I completed the teaching of Electrostatics to this class of 6 eager boys from a top school. First I showed a video of how a home-made electroscope is used to determine the kind of charge on a rubbed insulator.

I like to link topics to real life, so I described to them one of my roles while serving NS – to attach cargo to the bottom of a helicopter in what is commonly known as “underslung” operations. But we have to discharge the helicopter first, which is flying above our heads, using a long earth wire, else we may get an electric shock.

We covered definitions, procedures and concepts such as electric field and electric field lines. I even taught them an A-Level formula, F = Qq/kr^2, so that they understand that the electric force between two charged particles is the same for both charges even though the sizes of the charge on them are different.

We also discussed answers to a challenging worksheet and true enough, the students have certain misconceptions about charges and their movement.

Next week, we’ll start on Current Electricity. It’ll be fun.

Ilyasa, M.Ed, PGDE, ex-MOE teacher

(hp: 97860411)

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For our latest timetable, click here =>

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A. Math, A. Math Tips

Sec 4 A. Math Reflections sat1415 19/01/2013 – Differentiation

Posted on January 21, 2013February 22, 2016 by admin

This was our third lesson in Jan. We did the Product Rule for Differentiation after spending the last two sessions doing the Basic Rule and the Power Rule (a subset of the chain rule).

I told students to differentiate directly, in line, and not use the “let u = f(x) and v = g(x)” which is longer, more confusing and can cause more careless mistakes.

Now they are able to perform dy/dx = f(x)g'(x) + g(x)f'(x) quite quickly without introducing new variables such u and v which can be quite clumsy. Most of the time, finding dy/dx is part of a larger question, so it is unwise to make this part too long.

I ended the lesson with an intro to the Quotient Rule. Again, I don’t recommend the use of u’s and v’s and instead differentiate directly in line. We’ll be practising the Quotient Rule in the next session.

Again I tell students that Calculus is almost one-third of the A. Math syllabus, so if you want to get A1 you have to master Differentiation and Integration, which, in my opinion (and students hate it every time I say it), are amongst the easiest of topics in A.Math.

However, Integration at the A-Levels (H2 Math) can be quite difficult. But we’ll cross the bridge when we come to it. : )

Ilyasa, M.Ed, PGDE, ex-MOE teacher

(hp: 97860411)

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For our latest timetable, click here =>

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Pri Math, Pri Science

P6 (PSLE) Math & Science Tuition at Concept Learning

Posted on January 20, 2013April 8, 2016 by admin

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TUITION CLASSES:

_______________________________________________________________

EDUCATIONAL SERVICES:

______________________________________________________________

By EX-MOE TEACHERS & EXPERIENCED TUTORS

@ BLK 644, BUKIT BATOK CENTRAL, #01-68. S(650644).

CALL 65694897 OR SMS 98530744 OR 97860411.

For more details, kindly visit www.conceptlearning.sg, or call 97860411.

Exam Results

My (our) students’ O-Level (2012) results released in 2013

Posted on January 10, 2013February 12, 2013 by admin

Ok la, this year I shall break tradition by posting whichever results my last year’s students inform me of. One has just come in. I will update throughout the week as I get more results (sometimes students are just forgetful).

Physics: Luke, A2 (from b4 avg, failed in sec 3 (his mum just told me), St Pat’s sch, Farkhanda, B3 (from fail avg)

Chemistry (under Mr Anthony): Charmaine A2; Bandar A2; Luke, B3; Farkhanda, B4. (from fail avg)

Science: Ben, B3.

A. Math: Ameerul, C5 (from fail avg, Yuhua sec); Loges, B3 (from C5-C6 avg, ACS(I)); Ravin, B3 (from fail avg); Rahim, B3 (from C5-C6 avg); Jin Yong, A1 (from B4 avg); Farkhanda, B3 (from fail avg).

Math: Ali Zul, B3 (from C5-C6 avg); Colin, B3 (from C5)

This year, I shall also break tradition in another way, by posting a testimonial from a student, Ravin. Below is the exact words that he smsed to me at 10.06 am on 11 Jan 2013:

“My plan is to do engineering. More to aerospace or aeronautical. I will put my first few choices as that the rest I’m still thinking. Last choice will be MI. Yes Mr Ilyasa, a lot of improvement. I did not put in a lot of effort for A-math and my sci in secondary school. In fact I was failing but I’m happy to see that I got Bs and A for my math and sci but it’s really disappointing to see a 6 for EL. Thank you for your help Mr Ilyasa. You make lesson so fun and you taught me a lot. : ) “

Well, he taught me a lot too.

Waiting for more updates from more students …..

Ilyasa, M.Ed., PGDE, full-time tutor, ex-sch teacher (h/p: 97860411)

Schools

List of ‘Top’ Primary Schools (2012) based on GEP classes and Awards achieved

Posted on January 8, 2013February 13, 2025 by admin

The following system ranks primary schools according to the number of gifted classes available in a school from P4-P6, and how many awards they have obtained in 2011. The information has been taken and analysed from the MOE’s website.

For ease of reading, the numbers in the table under each column heading is the number of awards/classes there are, while the number in [ ] is the points that we assign to each award/class based on our judgement of the perceived relative importance of these programmes or awards. The Total is the number of points obtained by each school for the purpose of our ranking.

Gifted Education Programme (GEP)

As the presence of GEP classes in a primary school is an indication of the recognition and support that such schools have from the government, 3 points are awarded for each class present in the school from Primary 4-6.

School Distinction Award (SDA) & School Excellence Award (SEA)

As the SEA and SDA are very prestigious awards for a school, 2 points will be awarded for each of these awards obtained.

The following awards are assigned one point each for the purpose of computation of the ranking:

Development (DA) and Outstanding Development Award (ODA) (National Education)

Development (DA) and Outstanding Development Award (ODA)(Character Development)

Best Practice Award (BPA)

Special Award (SA)—Lee Kuan Yew National Education Award (LKY NE Award)

PRIMARY SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS

This page is for students who are keen to join our Young Scientist Programme, from P3 to P6, to enhance their learning of scientific phenomena and concepts, as well as to develop their science investigative skills such as making a hypothesis, understanding variables, observing changes in test specimens, collecting data, deducing relationships or trends, and making evidence-based conclusions.

Such students may also keep and maintain a portfolio of their scientific investigations for DSA purposes.

For expressions of interest or early bookings, please don’t hesitate to send a message to 88765498, as we can cater to a maximum of only 10 students in one session.

P3 TO P4 SCIENCE PRACTICAL SCHEDULE

P5 TO P6 SCIENCE PRACTICAL SCHEDULE

PRIMARY SCIENCE PRACTICAL TRAINING:

Each session is 1.5 hrs.
Each session covers the practical sections (plus some theory) of one Topic.
Available only from Nov to June.

TIMETABLE

Practical Timings:

Mon, Tue, Fri: 11am-12.30pm | 4.30pm – 6pm

Sat, Sun: 5pm – 6.30pm

Mar, Jun, Nov, Dec school hols: To be announced.

*For Mar, Jun, Nov and Dec school holidays we will have special days and times for Primary Science Practical Enrichment which will be announced later. For expressions of interest or early bookings, please don’t hesitate to send a message to 88765498, as we can cater to a maximum of only 10 students in one session.

PRACTICAL TUITION FEES

If you have any queries kindly contact Admin at 6569 4897 or 88765498 (Whatsapp)

Schools

List of ‘Top’ Secondary Schools (2012) in Singapore by Cut-Off PSLE aggregate score (2011)

Posted on January 4, 2013November 20, 2024 by admin

Name of School	PSLE Cut-Off Score
NANYANG GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL	262
RAFFLES GIRLS’ SCHOOL (SECONDARY)	261
RAFFLES INSTITUTION	261
HWA CHONG INSTITUTION	258
NATIONAL JUNIOR COLLEGE	258
DUNMAN HIGH SCHOOL	256
RIVER VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL	254
METHODIST GIRLS’ SCHOOL (SECONDARY)	250
CEDAR GIRLS’ SECONDARY SCHOOL	249
CHIJ ST. NICHOLAS GIRLS’ SCHOOL	249
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL	248
SINGAPORE CHINESE GIRLS’ SCHOOL	248
ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOL (INDEPENDENT)	247
VICTORIA SCHOOL	247
ANDERSON SECONDARY SCHOOL	245
BUKIT PANJANG GOVT. HIGH SCHOOL	244
ANGLICAN HIGH SCHOOL	243
CRESCENT GIRLS’ SCHOOL	243
NAN HUA HIGH SCHOOL	243
ST. JOSEPH’S INSTITUTION	242
ST. MARGARET’S SECONDARY SCHOOL	240
CHUNG CHENG HIGH SCHOOL (MAIN)	237
COMMONWEALTH SECONDARY SCHOOL	236
NAN CHIAU HIGH SCHOOL	236
FAIRFIELD METHODIST SCHOOL (SECONDARY)	235
SWISS COTTAGE SECONDARY SCHOOL	235
TANJONG KATONG GIRLS’ SCHOOL	235
XINMIN SECONDARY SCHOOL	235

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TUITION CLASSES:

EDUCATIONAL SERVICES:

By EX-MOE TEACHERS & EXPERIENCED TUTORS

@ BLK 644, BUKIT BATOK CENTRAL, #01-68. S(650644).

CALL 65694897 OR SMS 98530744 OR 97860411.

For sale, H2 Economics

Effective JC H2 / H1 Economics Model Essays

Posted on January 2, 2013January 2, 2013 by admin

On Monday, a Mrs Lee came to collect the GP Resource and Practice Package that she ordered. I didn’t realise she had come to my place before, until she mentioned that her daughter’s econs essay marks had improved significantly (from ard 5 to ard 19 marks now)after reading and studying the Economics Essay Revision Package that she had bought from me earlier. If you dont believe this, you can call Mrs Lee directly if she agrees to be ‘interviewed’. However, her daughter’s case study marks didn’t improve so I’m looking into it to understand why.

Well, I wasn’t surprised at all, as the same set of essays had been used by my Math student, Emily, to get an A at her Econs a year earlier (you can verify it with her if she agrees; she’s now studying in the US after getting four As in her H2 subjects). For those of you econs students who are too busy to attend econs tuition, and you can self-study, I would encourage you to purchase this Econs revision package that I had compiled. The essays may not be perfect (you may even add to them), but are far better than those written by average Econs students.

Alternatively, if you live near Bukti Batok, you can come to my place for econs tuition, which will be taught by Mr Jay Lim, an ex-banker in his 50’s, who has wide experience in practising finance and economics, and supported by myself and the materials that I have compiled. Although not an ex-JC teacher, Mr Lim is US-trained, and very comfortable with case studies and very familiar with the world of economics, finance, international trade and banking. He is also currently tutoring an IB student in Business & Management.

For enquiries, just give me a call or sms, to 97860411.

Rgds,

Ilyasa, M.Ed, PGDE, ex-sch teacher

Schools

List of ‘Top’ Secondary Schools (2012) in Singapore by Median PSLE aggregate score (2011) of their Sec 1 cohort

Posted on December 30, 2012February 22, 2016 by admin

For our latest timetable, click here =>

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ORIGINAL POST (OUTDATED):